A powerful and violent thunderstorm struck New Hampshire yesterday. The tornado-like winds caused heavy damage in the area and killed one person when a house collapsed. About 11 small towns in the center of the state suffered damages due to the high winds.

About 12 people were injured, Gov. John Lynch told the press. He declared the state of emergency in five counties and called up the National Guard to help in the recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent its personnel in the area today.

Lynch said as much as 100 homes were damaged and about 6 have been completely destroyed.

"This was a highly destructive storm, causing a tremendous amount of damage in a short period of time," Lynch said.

The only fatality occurred in Deerfield, where 57-year-old Brenda Stevens died as the house collapsed on her. Her husband and 3-month-old grandchild survived the house collapse and were only lightly injured, State Fire Marshal J. William Degnan said.

Experts of the National Weather Service are currently trying to figure out whether a tornado caused the damage or just very powerful winds. Meteorologist Michael Cempa said that all the information gathered by the NWS points out that a tornado has spawn over the area. The NWS is also investigating a second possible tornado in the Wolfeboro area. The damage stretched from about 10 miles east of Concord nearly to Maine.

The winds which had up to 100 miles per hours snapped trees, downed power lines and trapped many families inside their homes, state officials said. Approximately 5,000 homes and businesses in about 11 communities were left without electricity.